Local stories of Prohibition guide documentary

Documentary co-directors Kelly Nathe (left) and Nora Shapiro (center) pose in Holdingford with Elaine Davis, author of the book that inspired “Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass.”(Photo: William Camargo, wcamargo@stcloudtimes.com)Buy Photo

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"Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass" is inspired by SCSU professor Elaine Davis' book

This project is the first time Norah Shapiro and Kelly Nathe have co-directed

Walking into a liquor store today, it's hard to imagine a time when consumers couldn't purchase a bottle of beer legally.

But it's the Prohibition era that shaped parts of Minnesota's culture and is the foundation of a new documentary, "Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass."

Inspired by St. Cloud State University management professor Elaine Davis' book "Minnesota 13: Wet Wild Prohibition Days," the film will explore areas such as moonshine production in Stearns County, organic farmers growing Minnesota 13 heritage corn and family stories from the era.

Co-director and co-producer Kelly Nathe discovered Davis' work when she was doing research on her family tree.

"My mother is from Holdingford. My father is from New Munich. I knew some family members had some run-ins with the law operating the still. As a child, I had heard some stories," Nathe said. "I started to dig around to find more about my family history, and that eventually lead me to Elaine's book. We put this in the file of possible ideas for the next project."

Davis has been a delight to Nathe and Norah Shapiro, who also is co-directing and co-producing. She has helped the duo more deeply understand the background. Preliminary filming began in one of the state's coldest winters; after securing funding, production followed in late spring.

"(Davis) has been very generous in introducing us to people in the community. She's very generous in being a source for us and someone we can rely on for the true knowledge of the subject in the work she did on the book," Shapiro said. "Our film is far beyond what Elaine did in her book. We're going into some other aspects that she didn't even touch on in the book."

Experienced filmmakers

Shapiro served as a public defender for more than 10 years and slowly made the transition to documentarian. Her first short film was "A Sacred Heart," about Minnesota poet Phebe Hanson. It won the Emerging Filmmaker Award from the Minnesota History Center.

Nathe has been in the industry for 20 years. One of her own projects, "Hotel Hidajet," won multiple awards at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, in addition to Slamdance Film Festival. It aired on PBS.

It took Shapiro eight years to finish her most recent documentary, "Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile," which Nathe produced. "Miss Tibet" is on the verge of international distribution with an anticipated fall premiere at film festivals. It's this exposure Shapiro and Nathe hope "Minnesota 13" will have, too.

"Minnesota 13" is the first project Shapiro and Nathe have done as co-directors. A cut of the film will be completed by June, under conditions set by the Minnesota Filmmakers Legacy Fundthat supplied a fourth of their budget. Remaining costs are expected to be covered through fundraising, further grant applications and donations. The Minnesota natives have been using their own equipment while involving additional cameramen and photographers, who often have their own equipment. But that's an additional expense to the project.

While it's too early for the co-directors and co-producers to disclose a story line and full cast of characters, owners Bob McManus and Lee Egbert of 11 Wells, a sustainable farmer from Bakers' Acres and Davis are among confirmed cast members.

"The more we film, the more people are coming out of the woodwork with stories, explanations that go far beyond the book itself. That includes filming at 11 Wells. They are a micro distillery that is actually making a new legal brand of the Minnesota 13 (white whiskey)," Shapiro said. "We're looking at the past, the present and the future of Minnesota 13 with the documentary."

Author's dream

Davis' book is now seven years old. Creating a documentary had always been her dream, but lack of funding and skills inhibited her from assembling something. She trusts that her research is in good hands, with whom she describes as two very capable directors.

"Well, there has been tremendous demand right from the beginning to have a sequel to the book, so I'm happy to see it coming out in film form, the story getting wider exposure. Interest in the topic just never goes away," she said.

The Stearns History Museum has played a vital role in the continued exposure. Director of Archives John Decker, who aided Davis in research for her book, is an interview subject for the documentary. Nathe said filming in the St. Cloud area has been very important, with many subjects being interviewed and the museum being a treasure trove of materials.

Archival materials, still photos, letters and newspaper articles will be used in the production.

"Most of the people from the Prohibition era have passed on, so the stories we're getting to tell are from descendants of the people involved, telling stories, sharing stories. The Stearns History Museum has an incredible library of oral history tapes. Some of the questions they asked of subjects were about the Prohibition," Nathe said.

"They're really, really an incredible resource, so we have voices from those firsthand, and we hope to incorporate that into the film, and that's very exciting."

Nathe and Shapiro continued to witness curiosity about the project when they filmed in Holdingford earlier this month.

"They'll just come up and ask us what we're doing, and invariably they have their own stories and are really excited that we're doing this," Shapiro said. "This is really exciting for us. … We've been struck by the tremendous generosity of the people in the area. It's just been wonderful, and we're very grateful."

Follow Channler K. Hill on Twitter @ChannlerKHill.

What you can do to help:

• Tax-deductible contributions to the project can be sent to the Independent Filmmaker Project Minnesota, with Attn: "Minnesota 13: From Grain to Glass."

Norah Shapiro's work has aired on Twin Cities Public Television, at film festivals and in college classrooms and libraries. She owns a production company, Flying Pieces Production, based in Minneapolis.

Kelly Nathe has freelanced on a variety of independent feature films and TV productions that were broadcast on MTV, VH1, Lifetime, A&E, TLC and HBO.